St. Matthew's Church, Protestant church in Lucerne, Switzerland
St. Matthew's Church is the first Protestant church in Central Switzerland, built 1860–1861 to plans by Ferdinand Stadler in Gothic Revival style at Hertensteinstrasse 30, behind the Hotel Schweizerhof in Lucerne's old town. Its organ, built by Neidhart & Lhôte in 1972, has three manuals and 39 stops. The building is listed as a class B Swiss cultural property of regional significance.
Reformed worship in Lucerne was suppressed for centuries; a congregation formed only in the 19th century. In 1827 King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and the cantons of Zurich and Bern each donated a chalice for its founding. German and English visitors pressed for a church, and the Hotel Schweizerhof owner provided land behind his hotel, where Ferdinand Stadler's Gothic Revival design was built in 1860–1861 as central Switzerland's first Protestant church.
The church is also known as Citykirche Luzern. Its founding community was supported by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and the cantons of Zurich and Bern, each donating a precious communion chalice in 1827. German and English holiday guests in Lucerne repeatedly pressed for the building of a church.
The church stands at Hertensteinstrasse 30 in Lucerne's old town, behind the Hotel Schweizerhof, a short walk from the lakefront. It is listed as a class B Swiss cultural property of regional significance. The building is used today under the name Citykirche Luzern, so opening times depend on its current programme.
Richard Wagner, who lived in Lucerne from 1866 to 1872, married Cosima von Bülow here on 25 August 1870; it was his second marriage. The church itself was built in 1860/1861 to plans by Ferdinand Stadler as the first Protestant church in Central Switzerland.
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